by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA -- First place in the NFL's most mediocre division was at stake Sunday, and the sloppy game fell right in line.

Projections for some sweet, AFL-styled shootout were grossly exaggerated.

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles combined for 18 punts. The winning quarterback, Dallas' Tony Romo, had his lowest-rated game of the season. Eagles fill-in quarterback Nick Foles was much worse (11-for-29, 80 yards) before he left with a head injury.

Errant throws. Dropped passes. Missed blocks. All were in abundance.

And Dallas won, 17-3, despite committing 12 penalties.

This is NFC East football. For first place.

Just survive, baby.

"It's a division win on the road," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told USA TODAY Sports after adding his name to a collection of autographs on a low ceiling overhang in a room adjacent to the visitor's locker room. "These are tough to come by, no matter what."

This was no signature performance. The Cowboys (4-3) seized the division lead, but being king of the East does not carry the cache of the past.

Entering Sunday, not a single team in the NFC East had a winning record.

Now there is one.

So while the Cowboys have a clear path to earn their first division title since 2009, after back-to-back 8-8 records, they are a long way from looking like a true contender.

Sure, they can win the NFC East. Then what?

Right now, the second-place San Francisco 49ers (NFC West) still seem to be a more formidable contender. And next weekend, when Dallas visits the second-place Detroit Lions (NFC North), they will be one slip-up from .500 again.

Still, Garrett, sees Sunday's victory as half-full. The Cowboys didn't have defensive end DeMarcus Ware, nursing a quadriceps injury that forced the team's best defensive player to miss the first game of his career.

But even without Ware, the defense came through to become the first unit to completely put the brakes on Chip Kelly's high-flying offense.

That's significant on at least a couple of levels. The Eagles amassed at least 400 yards in each of their first six games -- something that only three other teams in NFL history had accomplished. But with the Cowboys swarming around NFL rushing leader LeSean McCoy and sticking cornerback Brandon Carr on DeSean Jackson, the yards were tough to come by for Kelly's crew.

McCoy gained 55 yards on 18 carries. Jackson caught three passes for 21 yards. And the team managed all of 278 yards.

It was also notable that Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin won the chess match against Kelly. When Kiffin ran his son Lane's defense at Southern Cal, his unit was no match for the offensive juggernaut Kelly assembled at Oregon.

Kiffin downplayed any lingering incentive, but it was apparent that his defense was prepared to address the key challenges of Kelly's offense.

Throughout the week, Kiffin had harped on the need to be prepared for the fast rhythm. They were. Rarely, if ever, did the Cowboys defense seem caught off guard for the quick snaps.

As Carr put it, they wanted to be sure that nothing chaotic happened.

It didn't. Not with Foles -- who looked so impressive in relieving the injured Michael Vick in the previous two games -- missing on a series of big throws when the game was tight that might have changed the course of the contest.

Yet the Cowboys had something to do with that, too. For example, Foles launched a deep pass to an open DeSean Jackson in the end zone a split-second too late -- but rookie safety J.J. Wilcox still had to get there, then leap to knock away the pass.

"We played well as a unit today," said Cowboys D-tackle Jason Hatcher. "Guys are just playing their butts off out there and playing for one another."

With back-to-back wins for the first time this season, the defense that was lit up two weeks earlier by Peyton Manning got another boost of confidence.

Then again, it was a gut-check all around.

Dez Bryant, who produced 110 yards on eight catches and drew an end zone DPI that set up a touchdown, said the gritty game tested the team's mental toughness.

"It's going to help big-time, since we didn't have a couple of our key guys in this game," said Bryant, mindful that in addition to Ware, running back DeMarco Murray is sidelined by a knee injury. "We just have to keep pushing."

They will get their chances to prove just how tough they are.

Garrett knows.

As he left the stadium, he was asked how it feels to be in first place.